The Under 12 Camogie Squad were invited to play in Féile C at the last moment. The request went out to the parents which created huge excitement amongst our young squad.

Out of a panel of 28, 23 were able to attend which created a huge run on skorts in Colgans! As a result, of the short notice the girls had no time to get used to the idea or the fact that they would be playing on a larger pitch with the harder size 4 ball against a much taller and mature opposition, a big difference to the Go games they were used to!

It all kicked off at 2:30pm in a cold, wet and windy Nurney on Sunday last. Naas were in group 1 with Athy, Straffan and Moorefield with each match 8 minutes a side. In the spirit of fairness the mentors decided to give each girl equal game time so that they could all benefit from the challenge of playing in the Under 14 competition.

In the first match against Straffan we played our first 12 players who got stuck in straight from the throw in. For the first few minutes we seemed to have the upper hand but unfortunately against the run of play Straffan manged to sneak a goal. The girls however did not give up and battled on. They kept plugging away and kept Straffan scoreless in the second half.

In our second match, we played our second 12 against Athy who were a strong and intimidating side. That said, the girls didn’t shy away from the challenge. Athy had one or two very strong and skillful players who did most of the damage. Unfortunately, they managed to put two goals past us in the first half. With a big hill to climb in the second half the girls again dug deep and put it up to Athy with an incredible defensive performance. Under difficult conditions they managed to hold Athy scoreless in the second half.

After a break of an hour and some light refreshments we were now out to face Moorefield. With each girl having played one match, we managed to play all 23 in the final game by playing 12 in the first half and the other 12 in the second. Even after two defeats, this did not deter the girls and first twelve went out as if it was the Cup final.

The Moorefield team had it all to play for as a win would see them on equal points with Athy and so it would come down to goal difference. They threw everything at Naas and by the end of the first eight minutes they were a point up. The next 12 then went out in the second half and picked up where the first 12 left off. Again fighting for every ball as if their lives depended on it while being cheered on by their teammates on the side-line. Unfortunately the pressure was too much and Moorefield manage to secure another goal and the match. However, it wasn’t enough and Athy went through to the final.

While disappointed that they were beaten and considering the age difference, all the girls were delighted with their performance. At no stage throughout the day did their heads go down or did they give up, something that they can be very proud of. To finish off the day the girls headed back to Naas for a well-deserved McDonalds. We are now looking forward to the start of the U12 league which commences this week.